1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to the field of coin operated vending machines, and is more particularly directed to certain improvements in vending machines for newspaper, magazine or other printed material.
2. State of the Prior Art
The improvements disclosed herein relate in particular to newsprint or magazine vending machines having a primary or main enclosure housing for storing the articles to be vended, usually in the form of a stack of newspapers, an access door in the primary enclosure which is normally locked by means of a coin operated door locking mechanism. A purchaser deposits the required coinage in the coin operated mechanism to unlock the door which can then be opened for access to and retrieval of the purchased article from the primary enclosure. In existing vending machines the coin operated locking mechanism is often mounted in a separate smaller secondary enclosure mounted on top of the primary enclosure. In such machines the access door is of the "pull-down" type, i.e., hinged at its lower edge to the primary enclosure and has a latch at its upper end which engages with the coin operated door lock. This style of vending machine is well known in the prior art. It has been the practice to provide a coin box under the coin sorting mechanism which receives and accumulates the coinage deposited by patrons for subsequent collection and retrieval by the vending machine operator. The coin box has in the past been enclosed within the secondary housing which also contains the coin actuated door lock. One difficulty with this arrangement is that access to the coin actuated lock is required by machine service and maintenance personnel for the purpose of changing the coinage settings of the coin sorting mechanism i.e. as between the price of a weekday newspaper edition and the Sunday edition. Such personnel is not necessarily authorized to remove and collect the coins accumulated in the coin box, and it is therefore desirable to restrict access of such personnel to the coin box. This is not possible in prior art machines of the aforedescribed design. Furthermore, the secondary housing affixed to the top of the primary machine enclosure is relatively exposed and more readily subject to vandalism and tampering by individuals attempting to break into the coin mechanism with the intent of appropriating the currency accumulated therein.
A further improvement disclosed herein relates to the display of a copy of the newspaper or publication being vended through a window in the access door to the primary enclosure of the machine. It has been common practice to provide such a window with a transparent sheet of glass or plastic and some means for supporting a copy of the printed publication behind and against the window pane for viewing by prospective patrons. The usual arrangement has only allowed the display of the upper half of the newspaper front page which was folded in half for insertion into the display window. It is desirable however to display entire front page of the newspaper. However, no convenient, reliable and low cost means has been available which would allow service personnel to quickly drop a display copy of a newspaper into place without wasting time to arrange and secure the display copy in proper viewing position.